Well, the "talk" list is unmoderated, and there's nothing policy-wise preventing someone from mentioning the event there and/or the "marketing" incentive or discussing that ... if they feel so inclined.
I find the marketing angle a bit tasteless but I think the event is worth a mention on -talk. I notice they have two speakers who also appeared at LUG Radio (Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, Benjamin Mako Hill) plus a couple others I'd like to catch (James Gosling, David Koelle). This looks kind of fun. I couldn't care less about the $500 beer tab at Thirsty Bear though.